


Open Waters, Open Hearts

by SamJoinedtheReconCorps



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Escape, F/F, F/M, Fighting, M/M, More tags to be added as story progresses, Pirates, Slavery, Slow Burn, Swordfighting, a straight up pirate au y'all, character deaths will be canon compliant, i will attempt a slow burn even though i'm a medium burn bitch with no patience, the cr crew gave us a taste with that uk'otoa arc but i want more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22875460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamJoinedtheReconCorps/pseuds/SamJoinedtheReconCorps
Summary: An escape from enslavement and a chance at revenge - the stars align for their meeting.The stars align to bring them together, to save each other, and to save everyone else.
Relationships: Fjord/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 33
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> heyyyy bitches, i'm out here with the pirate au my heart has always wanted to write, so strap on in because it's gonna be doozy. I've got so much planned but a good ol' section between the end and 3/4s of this fic is still a big ass blank so guess who's gonna be filling that in as I go because I'm an impatient bitch??? That's right! Me! And who said I ever did anything in the right order?
> 
> that being said, because I just pumped out this chapter in a post fever haze while I still have an unfinished storyline, I have no idea what the hell my publishing timeline will be. Will i publish tomorrow, next week, next month? Who knows!! (Although I will try and at least get 1 chapter out every month my lovelies, unless pressing matters arise that prevent me from doing so)
> 
> anywho, for now there's not warnings because nothing's happened yet, but those will be changing and there will be more tags to come. Expect CR level violence (which I will have warnings for in the chapter notes so please read them if you want to skip) and a character death or two that are canon compliant (you'll know when it happens but I promise that's a long ways away)
> 
> so get comfortable loves, because we're about to embark on the high seas and see what the mighty nein has in store for us!!
> 
> (also, this au takes place in my own personal fantasy world that I've been building for about 4ish years now, so some places will be completely unfamiliar. I may use a CR Exandria location here and there if nothing I've already created fulfills the needs the story requires, but since I know my world much better than I know Exandria I decided why the hell not I might as well take this baby out for a spin since I've put so much thought into it)
> 
> anyway, enough about me, I hope you guys really like this first chapter!!

The distant lights of Calendula were slowly twinkling to life as darkness finally descended along the coast. From their ship’s hidden position in the cove, it was easy to make out some of the docked ships with a spyglass - a few merchant ships, a military vessel or two, and the unmistakable grey sails sitting slack on the tall masts of a carrack. Even without its flag flying, it was obvious who’s ship that was - and it was obvious that that was their target.

“That it, Captain?”

He peered closer at the small figures scurrying across deck, moving barrels and provisions and all sorts of things to keep the ship stocked for however long they’d be out at sea. He handed the spyglass to his first mate.

“Sure looks like it to me,” he drawled, eyes still on the city despite no longer being able to see the ship at this distance.

She quietly observed the city through the spyglass for a few seconds before dropping it and tucking it into her pocket. “So we just wait til they’re out on the water? Follow at a discreet distance?”

“It's our best bet if we don’t want the city’s Vitallan to get involved,” he shrugged. “Not that we couldn’t take them or anything.”

“No, no, we don’t want those druid pricks in on this. This is our beef with them, not with the Vitallan.” She ran a hand through her hair, pulling her top knot free before putting it up again. “I just want to take those fuckers out of commission already,” she growled.

“And we will,” he assured, his hand coming to rest on his shoulder, over a wound that thankfully never came to pass. “No one wants them out more than I do. But we have to do it right. And if we can’t handle them -”

“We’ve got _control water_ prepared to get us out quickly,” a new voice chimed in, slow and steady as a head of pink hair peeked out from the main deck, just a few steps up, enough to see them. “Food’s ready. Come down and eat before the crew leaves you with nothing but scraps.”

“I’m not getting any damn scraps,” the first mate huffed, not even heading for the stairs but instead vaulting over the railing to land on the quarterdeck and then rush down to the mess room.

“Fuckin’ monk,” the captain grumbled, no heat to his words as he followed his friends belowdeck, giving the cityline one last glance before descending.

* * *

The docks weren’t very far from the manor - but only after having finally climbed over the last wall was he finally able to catch a glimpse of the sea.

He took a deep breath, feeling giddy and lightheaded; freedom was so close, but he couldn’t let his guard down until he was finally on board a ship.

There was a quiet thud beside him as two bright yellow eyes turned to him, and he knew that beneath her mask, the goblin was smiling.

 _They_ couldn’t let their guard down until they were finally on board a ship. It’d been such a long time since he had been alone that he forgot what it felt like to be a part of something.

Taking out his copper wire, he whispered into his hands, “ _Our best shot will be a pirate ship. They are most likely to take in strays willing to work without asking questions._ ” And they were most definitely strays, at least for now. By morning they’d be fugitives.

She nodded, turning around to scan the area before darting forward from shadow to shadow, showing him the path that would offer the most cover.

It was quiet in the quarter they were in, so they had to be extra careful as they wound their way past the elegant haciendas that ringed the Bowervilla. He knew guards dotted the perimeters of the manor, posted to keep thieves out and protect the families. He rolled his eyes. Overpriced wardens was what the guards were. No one said it, but everyone knew.

He’d, thankfully, seen the guards on the handful of times he’d been sent out with a master of the house to the market to buy whatever the house needed, and he’d memorized their positions as best as he could. He wasn’t sure how well that translated to the night watch, but he hoped the plan they’d devised over the last few months would work out for the best. He didn’t even want to consider the alternative.

Loud voices warned them that people were directly on the parapet above them. The goblin barely managed to duck into a shadow as he pressed himself flush to the wall, keeping completely still. The soft glow of a lantern shone overhead.

“Turn that thing off - we’ve gotta make the oil last for the whole night.”

There was some rustling, and a large shadow appeared. Someone was leaning over the wall.

“I just thought I saw something.” Silence, and a bit more rustling. A second shadow appeared.

He didn’t dare breathe.

“It was probably a dog or something,” one of the shadows retreated with that, leaving only the original, and giving him an idea.

After remaining there for a few more beats of silence, he chanced a quiet snap, bringing his familiar into the material plane. He willed the cat out of the shadows, to dart out and into the bushes opposite to where they were.

The familiar turned bright eyes to him, as if to show his understanding, before darting off with a hiss, disappearing into the underbrush a few dozen yards away.

That made the remaining guard concede. “You were right - just a cat.” The light was extinguished. “This oil shortage better let up once these dastardly winds let ships from the south dock…” the guard grumbled. They continued talking, their voices growing smaller as they retreated further along the wall.

He breathed a sigh of relief, snapping his fingers as quietly as possible on more time to recall his familiar before following where the goblin had gone. She was still waiting for him, and reached out to briefly give his hand a reassuring squeeze before darting off again. They quickly made their way through the rest of the sector before climbing one last wall - then they were in the central quarter and just a stone’s throw away from the docks.

Here, life still continued on well into the night, with taverns and brothels and merchants’ stalls staying open almost continuously. It never hurt to draw in customers, and the Grassbrook sector denizens were always looking to make some extra coin, no matter the time of day.

He didn’t need to hide in this part of the city - no one would question a skinny, dirty man walking around at night, but he still pulled up his hood, hiding his red hair. His partner was still hiding, as goblins weren’t as common in Calendula proper. She was good at hiding though, and the only reason he could still spot her was because she was letting him find her. Otherwise it would have been impossible.

They carried on through the city, not trying to betray their rush as they made their way to the Moss Docks. It was uneventful, thankfully, aside from a drunk that stumbled out of a bar, pitching forward and catching his arm, using him to balance himself.

“Aye, lad, sorry ‘bout that,” the drunk hiccupped. His breath reeked of alcohol. He straightened himself quickly enough though, splashing some of his drink on himself. He scowled at his clothes briefly before sluggishly making his way back inside the tavern.

He pulled his coat tighter around himself. Even though the drunk hadn’t done anything, he had unnerved him. That stranger could have been anyone - the master of the house, the family guards, the master’s son, Eod-

 _Get a hold of yourself_ , he scolded, stomping that thought out of his mind. If he spiraled into a panic, all of this would have been for nothing, and they were so close now. He squared his shoulders, shoving his hands in his pockets and holding onto his scraps of paper tightly.

The faster they were on a ship, the faster he’d be able to live without fear. The faster he’d finally be free again.

With one last glance over his shoulder, he stole down to the docks, following the goblin.

* * *

The gentle sway of the ship was what woke him from his light sleep. He glanced around immediately, only relaxing when he saw that it was just him, the goblin and the salt barrels - and the pile of ropes they’d been sleeping on.

They’d managed to sneak onto a ship that was about ready to head out, and within the hour of finding themselves in the cargo hold they felt the ship set sail. The relief that had washed over the pair of them had been so intense it had almost made them keel over, the adrenaline of their escape finally fading. Now they just had to wait until they were far enough away that it would be easier to keep them on the crew rather than take them back.

He settled into the ropes again, ready to succumb to sleep once more and hoping the _alarm_ he had set up would give them enough time to hide if someone were to come down. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A minute passed, two minutes, five - then he sighed and opened his eyes. He stared at the darkwood of the planks overhead, the color tugging at something at the back of his mind.

The chance of going back to sleep was definitely out of the question, and judging by the hour, he’d managed to scrape by two hours before he’d woken up. It’d be about 3 in the morning at this point, almost 4.

Quietly, so as to not wake up the goblin, he got up from the ropes, figuring he might as well explore the cargo hold and figure out what kind of work lay ahead. He conjured up a globule of light, just one of his _dancing lights_ and tugged off his scarf, draping it over the light to further dim it. It lit up the room as much as a small candle would, and he could snuff it out in a heartbeat - perfect for a quick little investigation.

Starting with the wall closest to them, he peeked into the open barrels and crates to find that they were filled with dried meat and fruits - nothing really that seemed trade worthy. The thought made him frown but he shook it off. They were probably heading somewhere to pick up a shipment, that was all.

He continued exploring, finding nothing more than a few tattered linens and uncut cloth. He was close to reaching the other side of the hold when he came across a crate filled with paper. Taking out a piece, he found that it was written in Common - a list of trade receipts.

_Gwylym ------------------------------------------------------ dwarf, 275 gp_

_Thisbe ------------------------------------------------------ bugbear, 145 gp_

_Paxton ------------------------------------------------------ gnome, 300 gp_

The list continued in much of the same fashion, and a stone of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. He noticed that at the top of the list there was a date - this one was dated three years ago, an old batch of receipts that didn’t warrant keeping around in a safer and less damp area. On a hunch that he desperately hoped would be proven wrong, he dug through the loose pieces of paper, dating back to 4 years prior. He had to shove the top of the crate further aside, to get to them, but after a scanning through a few more sheets of paper he found it.

_Sahil ------------------------------------------------------ elf, 275 gp_

_Elixane --------------------------------------------------- half-orc, 225 gp_

_Ulrich ----------------------------------------------------- goblin, 102 gp_

“ _Scheisse_ ,” he whispered, hands shaking as he stepped back, feeling himself hit a wall - but that was wrong, there was still more to the room, there shouldn’t be a wall there. He whirled around, feeling for what he had bumped into when he felt fabric touch his fingers where there was nothing but air. He gripped it tightly, yanking it off and exposing half a dozen cages of varying sizes, the iron bars covered in scratches and marks and stains. The familiar darkwood, the receipts, everything just -

They were definitely on their way to pick up a shipment.

He immediately snuffed out the light, taking out his wire and whispering, “ _We have to get out of here, this is -”_ right as his _alarm_ went off - then the hold flooded with light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so how was that for a first chapter lovies?? I hope to be back as soon as humanly possible, but for now tell me what you think!! Comments and kudos keeps the writer happy happy and a happy writer may be more inclined to pump out more as quickly as possible! Do with that information what you will!!
> 
> thank you all so much for reading, I really hope you guys liked this first chapter and I hope to see you all soon!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fall of fortune or a blessing in disguise?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand i'm back with chapter two, much quicker than even I anticipated!! (although I do blame Mr Liam O'Brien dropping that bomb about who Caleb is in love with yesterday - and you can rest damn well assured that my multishipper ass heard Caleb was "a little bit in love" with Jester and immediately went but who else is he in love with tho)
> 
> This fic is honestly so much fun to write so far and I mean I am just so so excited the more I write
> 
> I really hope you guys like this next chapter!!

He could barely see through the blood that had crusted over his eye from the gash on his forehead as he was dragged out through the ship and onto the deck. He could hear his partner in crime still struggling somewhere behind him, and he wanted to call out, to tell her to save her energy, but he couldn’t muster the strength to. His head was swimming, from the scuffle that took him out, from the blow to the head, or from the panic rising up his back he wasn’t sure, but he knew he wasn’t thinking straight.

“We found these,” the barbarian who dragged him out said, dropping him unceremoniously onto the deck, “in the cargo hold.”

“Well, well, well,” a deep voice, dripping in malice started, the sound of bones on gravel. “What do we have here?” There were heavy footsteps on the deck, making the wood creak as they got closer and closer. “A goblin,” the voice commented, acknowledging the thrashing body still fighting to break free.

He held completely still on the deck, hoping that if he seemed unconscious he would avoid whatever the worst of the punishment would be - at least or now - but just as their luck had turned sour it seemed it would continue to get worse.

“And a human,” the voice finished, a cruel hand coming to grab a fistful of his hair and drag him up. He hissed in pain, trying to twist away from the iron grip with no success.

“Let him go! You let him go right now!” the goblin shrieked. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Wait, I know you,” the man said, his voice turning almost gleeful as he stooped down. His other hand grabbed him roughly by the chin, forcing him to look at him. “You’re the brat the  _ Vollstrecker _ dumped on the wayside. Something about failing to follow orders.” He jerked his chin one way then another, taking him in. “And it looks like ya failed again. Would you look at that?”

“I said I’ll fucking kill you!” the goblin screamed again, this time with a foreign grunt of pain punctuating her sentence.

“That your little friend?” the man before him asked, cold eyes darting over to the struggling goblin behind them. “Someone you care about?”

“Leave her alone,” he finally choked out, despite his fear and panic, despite the memories swirling around and blending in with this moment, with the face before him dragging them all to the surface.

“Should we set a course back to Calendula to return them?” someone called out.

The man held his gaze for a second longer, tightening his grip on his hair. “Nah,” he finally said, letting go of his chin as he stood but still dragging him by the hair. “We’ll sell them on another coast. If the buyers couldn’t handle them, they couldn’t handle them, and that’s none of my business.” He finally let go, dropping him at the foot of more crew members. “Tie them up and toss them in the hole, where we can keep an eye on them. Even if they don’t have a place to go if they manage to get out, I don’t want them causing any trouble on my ship.”

“Aye, Captain,” the sound of assent sounded throughout the crew.

More hands reached for him, rough hands, harsh hands, but he’d rather be at their mercy than at the mercy of Captain Lorenzo of the Iron Shepherds.

* * *

It took no time at all for the two of them to be tied up and tossed into the hole with the latticed grate shutting overhead, barely letting the moonlight in. The goblin - his friend, he mentally corrected - curled in closer to him, and he could feel her shaking, most likely recognizing the captain and all its implications too. He tried his best to be comforting, but when you’re bound and gagged and just as terrified, there’s nothing more you can do than be there.

For a fleeting moment he considered summoning his familiar, snapping his cat into existence to try and find some way out like that, but just as quickly as the thought came he dismissed it. All that would do is get his cat sliced back into his pocket dimension, and if that happened it would take him an hour’s worth of time and materials he didn’t have to get him back. It would be best to just hold out, for now, and hope that somewhere down the line his familiar can help.

He stared out into the night sky, noticing a shooting star blaze past. Legend has it that when a master of a skill passes, a star falls. He wonders if the universe will find a way to mourn him, a simple nobody clapped in chains.

* * *

The sun was just cresting the horizon when  _ The Mistake _ deemed it time to strike. They needed the element of surprise on their side - against the Iron Shepherds they needed all the edge they could get.

Their ship was virtually silent on the calm waves, and the  _ Iron Shepherd _ ’s decks were absolutely deserted, with everyone seemingly tucking in for the night save for one crew member staring down resolutely at the deck, miraculously missing their approach.

“This rocks, those fuckers don’t even see us coming,” his first mate grinned, and while he wanted to partake in the good cheer at this turn of fortune, something about it just didn’t bode well with him.

He nodded towards the fast approaching carrack, “Alright, you all know the plan -”

“Y _ es _ , Captain Tusktooth, we kno _ o _ ow the plan,” a voice sighed, sidling up beside the first mate and throwing an arm around her. “We go in, and cause all sorts of chaos -”

“Jester, it's not just that, we need -”

“To be careful, we  _ know _ ,” Jester groaned. She scrunched up her nose. “Gosh, you are always so bossy about plans right before a fight.”

He stared at her, dumbfounded for a second before he threw a hand up in her direction, saying to his first mate, “Beau, will you please tell her that  _ planning an attack _ are the things that keep us from getting killed.”

“I wouldn’t ask mush for brains for any help on that front given that she’s quick to break away from the plan if an opportunity arises,” someone smirked, the tinkling sounds of their jewelry punctuating the quartermaster’s sentence.

“It’s called an attack of opportunity - and you can’t call me mush for brains for tactically choosing to attack when I get an opening, Molly,” Beau shot back with a glare.

Putting a finger to the bridge of his nose, the captain began to count back from ten before he summoned his falchion in his free hand, the sound of it materializing reminiscent of a wave reaching the sandy shore.

“You all ready?” he asked when he effectively had their attention again.

A taller woman who had been watching the group’s exchange straightened up from where she had been leaning against the main mast. She reached behind her, unsheathing her greatsword. “Ready.”

* * *

The thud of boots on the deck followed by shouts and the clash of metal on metal roused him from his sleeplike stupor. He hadn’t been able to go back to sleep, too high strung on his fear and anxiety, but the silence and the lulling of the ship on the water had rocked him to numbness, so the sounds overhead were definitely unexpected - but more than that, they were promising.

He squirmed where he lay, trying to get onto his side so he wouldn’t be on his hands. The goblin beside him managed to scramble to her feet despite being tied up, showing him once again just how dexterous she could be.

She looked from him, to the latticed grate where shadows crossed overhead before she got onto her knees, shoving at him with her shoulder until he finally turned onto his side, going the extra mile to shift into a half kneel. She glanced back up at the grate, and he gave her a nod.

Snapping his fingers, he summoned his familiar right above the grate, immediately jumping into its senses, at least for a second - right in the middle of the fray.

The first thing he saw made his breath catch as he watched two women, one armed with a deadly greatsword and the other with only a staff, go head to head with Lorenzo, keeping him at bay as the rest of the ship was thrown into chaos, similar fights and duels squaring off all around the ship.

A purple tiefling dashed by, his chest streaked with blood yet still pulling off an intimidating grin, all sharp teeth and ferocity, as he twirled dual scimitars in a whirlwind, cutting down a slaver before clashing with another. There were twin blue tieflings running around too, deflecting blows on a shield and shooting off bouts of magic -  _ magic! _ \- between swings of a handaxe.

Looking around quickly, he could make out more of this wild array of strangers, catching sight of a tortle standing on the furthest side of the gangplank connecting this ship to another one, blowing into a small metal tube and producing a cacophonous sound from his shell. There was a blonde half-elf dodging and weaving against his enemy, striking with his rapier whenever he got the chance, and there was a tall man with pink hair crouching down and making fungus and flowers bloom on one of the fallen slavers before pointing his staff at another slaver fighting someone else and releasing a cloud of insects that took him down to reveal a falchion wielding half-orc that nodded his thanks before running across the deck.

From the looks of things right that second, he was the least preoccupied.

_ Go, _ he commanded, pulling out of his familiar so he could settle into his own senses again as he anxiously stared at the grate overhead while the battle still warred on the deck.

* * *

He hadn’t gotten more than a few steps away from the man on the ground still fighting off the insects when a cat darted up to him winding around his legs and almost making him trip.

“What in the hell -” he began, turning to glare at it but finding that it had already darted away, going to stand about a dozen feet away and beginning to meow insistently.

Rolling his eyes, he was just about to ignore the cat when it rushed him again, even going so far as biting on the laces of his boots for a second before running back and retaking it's place, meowing louder.

Even though he really,  _ really _ wanted to ignore it, there was something about it that struck him as odd - and besides, he really didn’t peg the Iron Shepherds as cat people. It was just enough of a curiosity to give him pause, and definitely enough that the sound of thundering footsteps below deck as more of the crew rushed to join the fight spurred him to act quickly.

Running forward, he came to stand at the edge of a latticed grate - the hole. He glanced in quickly, about to turn back and start slashing when he caught sight of two people staring up at him. There was a goblin with big yellow eyes and stringy green hair struggling against the ropes that tied them up, and a man with fiery red hair and bright blue eyes, his expression pleading.

Turning around, he could see a handful of new faces joining into the fray - all Shepherds, with the promise of more to come from the continuing sound of it, and that meant that they had mere seconds to run before they were overwhelmed. His bad feeling about this had been right.

Looking back down, he could see that the man had managed to pull himself to his feet, getting closer to the light, and he could see that he had blood on his forehead that streaked down his temple.

He couldn’t leave them.

With his falchion he cut through the rusted lock with ease, flicking his wrist to then make it disappear to free both of his hands as he crouched down, grabbing the grate’s lattices and wrenching it open. It was  _ much _ heavier than it looked, but with the adrenaline pumping through his veins he managed to shove it open without much of a problem.

“Sapphire! I’m gonna need a little help over here!” he shouted before jumping into the hole, being extra careful not to land on either of the pair. He put a hand on the man’s shoulder to steady himself, then looked up, catching Jester staring down at him. “This better be the real you and not your duplicate!”

A second Jester appeared opposite the first. “What’s up?”

“Here,” he said, leaning over and grabbing the small goblin, mumbling a small, “Sorry,” before tossing her up to Jester, “Catch!”

She caught the goblin with ease, tucking her in behind her shield. “You know I am much stronger than you, Captain - maybe I should get the man out?”

“I’ve got it, Sapphire,” he huffed. “Now send your duplicate to make more trouble and sound the retreat. We need to fuckin’ move.”

“Aye, aye!” she nodded, and both Jesters disappeared.

“Alright,” he started, addressing the man, “now it's our turn.” Despite not being as sturdily built or as muscular as other half-orcs, he picked up the man with less trouble than he expected, tossing him over his shoulder with another quick, “Sorry,” as he glanced around for any footholds.

He found just what he was looking for about two and a half feet off the ground of the hole, a divot in the warped wood the he knew he could use to give himself that last boost. Stepping back the all of two steps he could manage in the cramped space, he made a leap for the wall, letting go of the man for a second, just so that he could grip the edge of the hole with both hands as his feet scrambled for purchase against the side.

After one last kick he found the foothold, keeping the man from falling by pressing himself flush to him, not giving him a chance to slip from between him and the wall.

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized again as he pulled them both up, finally letting go with one hand to push the man on deck completely before he followed suit, picking up the man immediately as he surveyed the ship, summoning the falchion once more.

Another half dozen Shepherds, and only a handful of his own crew still holding the gangplank.

“Set off!” he shouted, letting the falchion fizzle out of his grasp. He wasn’t going to be able to fight through them.

“You heard the man!” his quartermaster yelled, using his elbow to push back their crew onto the  _ Mistake _ , keeping the Shepherds at bay along with Jester’s duplicate before he kicked the gangplank into the water and began weaving his way through the Shepherds, slicing and carving his way through whenever he got a chance. “This way!”

Not needing to be told twice, he followed Molly onto the highest deck, where the steering wheel was, hoping the Jester would keep causing enough trouble with her duplicate to give them a few more seconds. Ever the opportunist, Molly took his swords and jammed them into the wheel, splintering wood and bolts and trashing it to the point of almost making it unusable, but they didn’t have any more time if they wanted to make it out with their lives.

Summoning a ball of eldritch energy, he blew a hole onto the railing of the ship, giving them a clear run. “Molly, go -” he started, shifting the man in his arms to hold him closer to his chest.

“After you, Captain,” Molly said, finding the time to even give him a small bow.

“Molly -!”

“Their bastard captain is over here!” someone shouted from below, and suddenly they were out of time.

With a quick nod, they both ran for the railing, making a running leap for their ship.

Ever the acrobat, Molly landed with graceful roll, bouncing onto his feet while still brandishing his swords.

The captain on the other hand - he felt that he was just lucky to have saved the man he was carrying from the worst of their landing. They rolled twice on the deck, but he’d managed to hold onto the man tight, keeping a firm hand on the back of his neck to keep him from getting too badly injured in the fall, and with a grunt they came to a stop, the man lying beneath him wincing in pain.

“Now, Clay!” he shouted, and just like that he could feel the ship starting to lurch forward, away from the  _ Iron Shepherd _ , away from the continent, and out onto the open sea.

* * *

All the breath escaped his lungs with a muffled  _ oof _ as they rolled onto the deck, all the other sounds getting blocked out by the ringing in his ears. He blinked blearily, trying to shake off the daze and concentrate on the face coming into focus.

It took him a few more blinks to realize that the half-orc - the  _ captain _ of this new ship - was talking to him.

“- hurt? Are you okay?” His yellow eyes scanned his face, hesitating on the cut on his forehead before meeting his gaze with concern.

Even though he wanted to answer, he couldn’t muster more than a small nod with the gag he was still wearing.

The captain must have read his mind because he quickly helped him sit up, pulling out his falchion - no,  _ summoning _ it, from thin air.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” the captain assured him, probably assuming his wide eyed stare was out of fear rather than awe at his mystical blade. Still, the sentiment behind his assurance was new and welcome and soothed the frightened animal that hammered in his chest.

Making quick work of the ropes on his arms, the captain disappeared the falchion before moving to untie the gag behind his head.

“There,” the captain said, letting the gag fall away. “That’s gotta be much better.”

“It-it is,” he answered, voice quiet. “Thank you.”

“‘Course,” the half-orc nodded, expression relaxing just the tiniest bit from his concerned look. They stayed like that for a beat before the captain blinked, pulled himself up, seemingly realizing that he was still hovering over him. Once he was standing, offered his hand.

Not wanting to 1) be rude to his current rescuer, and 2) embarrass himself by trying to get up on his own and stumbling from the still lingering dizziness from the drop onto the deck and probable blood loss, he took the proffered hand and got to his feet, letting go once he was up.

It took maybe 2 seconds for him to find his friend - and his cat, who was winding around her legs comfortingly - getting similarly cut out of her bindings by one of the blue tieflings. As soon as she was free, she looked around and, finding him, dashed over to his side.

“Are you okay?” she asked, grabbing onto the sleeve of his coat and staring up at him. “Gods, they really bloodied you up.”

“ _ Ja _ , I am okay,” he answered, honestly, truthfully, because  _ anything _ was better than being on that ship. “What about you? Are you hurt?” And even though just the morning before he had merely considered her a fellow slave and potential partner of escape, he now realized that he cared about her - really and truly cared about her in a way he hadn’t even realized he could still care about someone. Today was just a day full of surprises.

“Just a little roughed up, but I’m fine,” she said, waving his concerns aside. She then seemed to notice the half-orc standing beside him, because she turned a suspicious look his way.

“Well, I’m glad you’re both fine,” the half-orc nodded. “I’m Fjord - Captain Tusktooth, the Captain of this ship,” he rushed to add, flushing at his own less-than-grand introduction. “And, as you can both already guess, an enemy of the Shepherds.” He gave them a once over, scratching the back of his neck. “And I’d hazard a guess that you’re not friends of the Shepherds either.”

“You would be right with that guess,” he answered. “Things were definitely bleak for us on that ship.”

“Bleak? On the  _ Iron Shepherd _ ?” the purple tiefling chimed in, coming around and playfully elbowing the captain, “well ain’t that news.”

The captain -  _ Fjord _ \- rolled his eyes. “This here’s the quartermaster, M-”

“Mollymauk Tealeaf, at your service, dears” the tiefling introduced, pulling away from Captain Fjord and sticking out his hand.

Cautiously, he reached out, meaning to shake it politely only for Mollymauk to take it and plant a chaste kiss on the back of his hand. He could feel his face grow warm at the gesture.

“This is the point where you introduce yourselves,” Mollymauk stage whispered as he turned and did the same to the goblin.

“Introduce ourselves?” he asked, feeling himself start to clam up with a whole new sense of panic even as he was still reeling from the tiefling’s introduction.

“Yeah,” Fjord nodded, “what’s your name?”

And today really was full of surprises. It’d been years since he last remembered someone ask for his name - ages longer since he’d even seen himself as a person worthy of one.

“Caleb,” he answered, shooting out the first name that came to mind. “Caleb Widogast.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> firstly, apologies, because fight scenes are 100% not my strong suit but I did the best I could and I really hope you guys liked it! And we've got the Iron Shepherds! And the Mistake! And all sorts of other goodies already getting hinted at as we go and I'm so thrilled to keep on going :))))
> 
> and idk if y'all can tell, but I am most definitely not patient because I've already got Fjord being all worried about Caleb and all that jazz like wow I really can't help myself huh
> 
> anyway, I really hope you guys liked this chapter and I can't wait to see you all again!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions are made, and questions are saved for later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO WHILE THIS PIRATE AU HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LIKE, THE CAMPAIGN'S PLOT, THESE AUTHOR'S NOTES WILL mOST DEFINITELY HAVE SPOILER NOTES FOR EPISODE 98
> 
> WIDOFJORD FAM, HOW WE DOING?? WE STILL ALIVE?? STILL BREATHING?? STILL KICKING?? bECAUSE I'M DYING
> 
> anyway, I really really hope you guys like this chapter!! I've been working on it since episode 97 dropped and then y'know Shadowgast happened, but like I said, at least one chapter a month!! I hope you guys like it!!

“Caleb,” he repeated, testing the name as he would pronounce it without the man’s accent.

“And I’m Nott, the Brave,” the goblin introduced as well, still clutching onto Caleb’s coat with one hand while she shook Molly’s hand with the other.

“Nott, the Brave, an interesting name if I ever heard one,” Molly grinned. “Welcome to the  _ Mistake _ .”

Caleb, who had been looking down at Nott with the ghost of a quizzical smile on his face, turned to Molly with a guarded expression. “The  _ Mistake _ ?”

“Yeah, the  _ Mistake _ ,” Jester answered, bounding over to them, already holding the cat that had showed him the pair. “This ship used to be the  _ Mist _ , but when we stole it we decided to change the name so that it wouldn’t be so obvious.” She then seemed to remember she was a complete stranger to them. She grabbed Nott’s hand as she was pulling it away from Molly, giving it a vigorous shake as she said, “Hi, I’m Jester!”

“Thank you for the help, Miss Jester,” Nott smiled, hesitant but genuinely grateful.

“No problem,” Jester beamed. She turned to look at Fjord over her shoulder, “Oh, isn’t she just  _ so _ cute! She called me  _ Miss _ Jester!”

“Yeah, yeah, adorable,  _ Miss Jester _ ,” Beau sighed, using her staff as a walking stick as she began limping her way across the deck. There was a gash across her abdomen, and a long cut running up her arm that she kept her hand pressed against.

“Oh my gosh,  _ Beau _ ,” Jester exclaimed. “You’re bleeding!”

“What, this?” Beau asked, giving a small shrug that only made her wince. “No, it’s fine, it’s cool, you keep on talking to the new guys.” Beau leaned heavily against the railing of the ship, clearly not getting any further than that with the mess of injuries she was sporting.

Jester shook her head, quickly making her way over to Beau and putting her free hand to Beau’s stomach. “I am also the resident healer of the ship,” Jester tossed over her shoulder. And then, to Beau, “You could have just  _ asked _ me to heal you instead of being all passive aggressive about it.”

“Thanks, Jester,” was Beau’s sheepish response as the wounds knit together, healing over and leaving only thin scars, the only sign that they had been bleeding freely just moments before.

“One of two,” Molly corrected, watching Jester finish her healing with a brief, “The Traveler is with you.”

“Of two -?” Caleb began to ask, before he was gently turned around.

“Healers,” Clay answered, a hand still on Caleb’s shoulder from where he’d turned Caleb to face him. He put a hand to Caleb’s forehead, healing up the gash right above his eye. “The name’s Caduceus.”

“ _ Danke _ \- thank you,” he said, gingerly touching the now healed skin.

Caduceus looked Caleb over with a clinical eye, the way he looked at everyone whenever they became his most recent patient. Seemingly satisfied, he nodded, turning to Fjord. “I’ve gotten us far enough away with my stronger spells, and I’ve got just enough spells left to heal up anyone else who got hurt in that fight.” He patted Caleb lightly on the shoulder, turning to give Nott a similar appraising look and a small tap on the head that instantly made the bruises on her arms disappear, “Soon as I’m done with everyone I’ll get you both something good to eat.”

Fjord nodded his understanding, but his eyes were on Caleb, who watched Caduceus leave with confusion. Caleb was pale - pale _ r _ than when Fjord had first taken him in when they crash landed on the  _ Mistake _ , and Fjord thought that maybe it should have been the other way around, that he should have gained some color rather than lost it.

“You’re sure you’re not hurt anywhere else?” Nott asked, beating Fjord to the question as she took in Caleb’s lack of color. Fjord realized that maybe there was another more serious wound that they hadn’t found - one that even  _ Caduceus  _ hadn’t found.

“I do not think so,” Caleb answered, glancing down at himself. He took a heaving breath, seemingly steadying himself, before he looked back up, looking at the group at large but reaching out to take Nott’s hand. “This has all been...a lot. I apologize for not - for -” he struggled to finish his sentence, to finish the thought, before he blurted out, “you can all do magic?”

“Not everyone,” Jester answered, from where she was still fussing over Beau. “But the magic I can do is pr _ e _ tty great.”

Molly crossed his arms, nodding towards Caduceus’ retreating back, “Cad and Jester’ve got that healing magic going on, Orly’s got a bardic streak, and the captain and I, well,” he shrugged, “we dabble - Fjord a bit more than I do.”

“I, ah, wouldn’t say that -” Fjord began to deny.

“But I would,” Molly quipped. He made a motion with his hand. “Your sword disappears, I’ve still gotta sheath mine like the rest of the mortals,” he said, patting his now sheathed scimitars. He gave Caleb and Nott a sympathetic shrug. “It can be a bit much to be around magic if you’re not used to it.”

“Caleb’s used to magic - he knows all about magic,” Nott answered matter-of-factly.

“Really now?” Molly smiled, raising a brow. “And how’s he know all about magic?”

“I really don’t know all anything about magic -” Caleb meekly denied, averting his gaze, but Nott was quicker.

“Well because he knows magic, of course.” She tugged on Caleb’s sleeve. “C’mon, Caleb, show them your spells.”

Caleb’s shoulders pinched nervously. “I don’t think -”

“You know magic?” Jester exclaimed, running away from Beau’s side, her interest in the newcomers exponentially rising.

Nott nodded, her big ears flopping with the vigorous movement. “He can send messages and make lights and his cat is -”

“Woah - you can  _ send _ messages,” Jester gushed, looking at Caleb now in earnest. “Do you think you can send a message to my Mama? She lives in -”

And now it was Fjord’s turn to interrupt, watching how painful this entire exchange was becoming as Caleb shrank further into himself with all the attention being drawn to him. “Jester, Jester, I think we should let them rest before we ask him to do any kind of magic.”

Jester’s excitement dropped to a pout, but before she could say anything Beau finally made her way over, resting her staff over her shoulder and not at all hiding the brusque look she was giving Caleb and Nott. “Don’t you guys think that for a couple of strangers we’re trusting them with  _ too _ much, too fucking soon?”

Ever blunt to get right to the heart of things, Beau’s question made Fjord in particular flinch. He really shouldn’t have just untied them, he should have questioned them - and they all definitely shouldn’t have told them about their magic and their healers and -

“ _ Zone of Truuuth _ !” Jester grinned, still stroking Caleb’s cat and looking at the pair. “And now you have to tell the truth so we can trust you!”

Caleb, who’d been getting more anxious as the conversation devolved into what could now be deemed a magical interrogation seemed so tense he was about to snap. However, he managed a jerky nod, exhaling shakily. “Okay,  _ ja _ , that makes sense.”

Nott, taking her cue from Caleb, nodded too. “Ask away.”

“Okay, first, do you secretly work for the Iron Shepherds?” Jester asked, giving them a pointed look.

“No,” Caleb answered at the same time Nott said, “No, fuck those guys.”

Jester turned to Beau, but Beau shook her head. “Too specific - they might not work for the Shepherds but they could still want to kill us.”

“Okay, okay - do you secretly want to kill us?” Jester asked next, eyes darting from Caleb to Nott, closely watching their faces as they answered - which was completely unnecessary since they were both under her  _ zone of truth _ , but that’s just Jester.

“No,” Caleb answered again, with Nott echoing his short reply as well.

When Jester turned back to Beau this time around, Beau shrugged. “That’s good enough for me.”

Jester nodded. “Well, now we know we can trust them - they don’t work for the Shepherds, they don’t want to kill us - they’re just normal people.” Turning to the pair, Jester nodded again, then put a thoughtful finger to her chin. “But maybe,” she began, tapping her chin and asking one last question - “Do you know the Traveler?”

Because of course she would ask that.

This time, Caleb and Nott glanced at each other, looking absolutely confused. “No,” they both said, with varying degrees of confusion and hesitation, but they were able to say it and thus that meant that they were telling the truth.

“Well, I’ll tell you all about him,” Jester told them, nodding sagely. “He’s like  _ super _ powerful, and like really, really hot, and he likes to play tricks and -” she cut herself off abruptly, this time wheeling on her friends with a mischievous grin on her face. “Do any of you secretly have a crush on me?”

Because  _ of course _ she would ask that.  _ Zone of Truth _ with Jester always ended in that, one way or another.

Beau looked absolutely stricken. Molly watched her squirm for a split second more before stepping up and booping Jester on the nose. “I think we’re done here if you’re turning your spell on us, dear.”

Jester scrunched up her nose but begrudgingly dropped the spell, the magic receding from around them. “I’ll get an answer to that one day,” she vowed.

With a not so subtle look to Beau, Molly shrugged, “Only time will tell.”

“Ooookay,” Beau butt in clapping Fjord’s shoulder in her signature  _ please help me right now _ move. “You were saying the newbies needed rest or something, right Captain?”

Fjord nodded, giving Beau the change of subject and going back to what he had been saying now that the pair were established to be clear of suspicion. “Yeah - I’m sure some food and sleep will do the both of you some good after being on that ship.” He turned towards the stern, where the stairs would lead below deck to everyone’s quarters. “I’m sure we could accommodate two m-”

“Caleb is more than welcome to room with me,” Molly offered, giving Caleb his most gracious smile. “You can settle in, get comfortable - we’ll work out the finer details later.”

The blush was back on Caleb’s face, just barely noticeable. “Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Mollymauk -”

“Of course, Mr. Caleb,” Molly answered, his smile turning into a full blown grin.

“- but if it is okay I would prefer to stay close to my friend,” Caleb finished, his lilting accent much more prominent as he gestured towards Nott.

Jester stepped in front of Molly, her tail swishing eagerly. “You can both have my room and I can room with Beau.”

“That sounds -” Nott started, but her response was lost as Beau loudly asked, “Wait, so I have a roommate now?”

With a suddenly crestfallen expression, Jester turned to Beau. “If you don’t want to be roommates I can ask someone else.”

“No, no,” Beau rushed out, crossing her arms. “You’re my roommate now, I just wanted to clarify.” She shifted from foot to foot, averting Jester’s now brilliant smile. “You can stop looking at me now - please continue what you were saying.”

“Oh, right, right,” Jester nodded, looking back at Caleb and Nott. “Well, like I said - you can both have my room, to sleep, to hang out -” she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, “to b _ o _ ne-”

“Jester,” Fjord started, the warning clear in his tone.

“No - we’re just -”

“We’re not like-”

“Friends, we’re just friends,” Caleb finally got out, after both he and Nott tripped over each other to correct Jester’s assumption. By now, Caleb’s face almost matched his hair while Nott looked positively mortified at the insinuation.

Taking pity on the two as Jester began to tug them away, Fjord glanced around the ship quickly, finding exactly who he was looking for, and called out, “Hey, Yash! Mind helping Jester get them settled in?”

Yasha, who Caduceus had just finished healing up, stood up from the crate she’d been sitting on. She patted the firbolg’s arm in thanks, nodding at Fjord and making her way over to Jester and the pair, giving a small wave and exchanging quiet words that the group couldn’t hear before the four of them disappeared below the deck.

“Man, you guys just see a pretty face and forget yourselves, huh?” Beau smirked, turning a knowing eye to Molly and Fjord.

Fjord rolled his eyes, not deigning her with a response, while Molly shrugged. “What can I say, I’m a sucker for pretty eyes.”

“Just don’t scare the man,” Fjord sighed, already used to his friend’s antics. Then he remembered Molly’s earlier offer. “So, what, you were just gonna toss me out of my own room to let Caleb stay there?”

He waved Fjord’s words aside. “Don’t act like we wouldn’t have been able to make room for him, he’s tiny.” He waggled his eyebrows devilishly, “And I mean, he wouldn’t be taking up any room at all if he just moved into my bed -”

“ALRIGHT, that’s enough,” Beau interrupted, shooting Molly a glare.

Molly shrugged. “Well either way, I guess we have two more members on the crew?”

“I don’t know about that - he’s Zemnian, I think,” Fjord mused, feeling like he’d finally placed the man’s accent. “For now they’re with us, but we’ll ask them later exactly where they’re from so we can correct course and get them to the closest port.”

“Let’s leave that for tomorrow,” Caduceus suggested, slowly walking up to them. “What they need right now is rest, not any more questions that might make them upset after whatever ordeal led them to be on the  _ Iron Shepherd _ .” He shook his head, a rueful smile on his face, “Besides, we dropped lots of things on them, introductions and abilities and whatnot. Let’s give them time - and let’s definitely give them food.” He frowned. “I’m not super familiar with goblins, but I know that that boy’s so skinny a strong breeze would be enough to knock him over.”

“If those are the doctor’s orders,” Molly nodded, “Food and rest then.”

“Food and rest,” Fjord agreed. He gave the ship one more look over. “Well, for them at least. We’ve gotta get back to our posts.”

* * *

Jester and Yasha, as the intimidatingly tall woman introduced herself to be, led them both below the deck, into a dimly lit hallway lined with doors, with one hall right in front of the stairs and another branching off to the right.

“It’s this way,” Jester nodded, moving down the hall on the right and around the corner.

Caleb nervously dug his fingers into his coat sleeve, starting to scratch subconsciously. He knew that if these people turned on them, they could easily have them clapped in irons within mere seconds. They were spellcasters and fighters - and they outnumbered them. Again.

Regardless, he hoped that if he just played nice and didn’t cause any problems that maybe things would go smoothly until they reached a port far from Diovra. Hopefully.

This second hallway had less doors, with one at the far end and two doors to the left, and two to the right. Jester skipped to the furthest door to the left, opening it and waving them over.

“Let me just get all my things and then you’re good to go,” she told them, going inside and leaving his cat on the bed before haphazardly collecting clothes and journals and what looked like a vast array of paints. She handed them over to Yasha who took them without comment as Jester opened up a small wardrobe and pulled out a couple of dresses.

“Do you need any help?” Nott volunteered, peeking in and watching as Jester marched back to the door.

“Aww, thank you, Nott,” she grinned. She shrugged, making the fabric and books overflowing in her arms move with the gesture. “But I think I’ve got just about everything.”

“You could always come back to collect anything you have left behind. This is your room, after all,” Caleb said, moving aside to let Jester walk through.

“Well, I know I can come back and check if I forgot something, but this isn’t my room anymore,” Jester told them. “This is your room now, so make yourselves at home.”

Yasha stepped back, opening the door directly across from what was once Jester’s room, revealing a room of similar size but with much more spartan decor, with only a handful of books on a small desk and a few maps on the walls.

“I’ll be right here with Beau if you ever need anything.” She shouldered her way inside, dumping all of her things on the bed. She began humming happily as she started to find places for her things, setting the example for immediately making herself at home.

Stepping inside, Yasha set the paints down on the desk before heading out again. “I will call you when dinner is ready, if you would like?”

“That would be greatly appreciated,” Caleb nodded. “Thank you.”

“Mhm, thank you,” Nott repeated. “You’ve all been very kind.”

She gave them a small smile. “I am glad you feel that way. It is not often that we, ah, get guests - or rescue them.” She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, and Caleb immediately related to the unease of speaking to strangers. “If you need anything as well, my room is right there.” She pointed to the door next to the one Jester was in. “If you do not find me there, I will most likely be outside, especially if there is a storm.”

Caleb had no idea what to make of that last piece of information, although he did imagine that with her muscular arms she could easily hold down rope and rigging even against the gails of a howling storm.

“Thank you,” he said again, and then the three of them fell into an awkward silence, shifting where they stood, unsure how exactly to exit the conversation.

After a minute and fourteen seconds of silence, Jester poked her head out. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go take a nap.”

“Yeah, a nap,” Nott nodded, stepping into the room with Caleb.

“Goodnight,” Jester sang out.

Slowly closing the door, Caleb let out a quiet, “Goodnight,” in return.

He took a deep breath. That had gone much better than he expected.

Taking out his silver wire, Caleb took a couple of minutes to set up an  _ alarm _ , just to be safe. He noticed that there were doodles drawn on the door, sketches of random things - with crude dicks accounting for maybe a third of all the drawings. Without really needing to look Caleb already had an idea that there’ll be more doodles all over the room.

Turning around once he was done, Caleb found that Nott was hesitantly scratching his cat beneath the chin. She glanced over at him. “What’s its name?”

“Frumpkin,” he answered, moving over to sit beside her on the bed.

They were quiet for a beat, Nott just petting Frumpkin as Caleb watched. Finally, Nott broke the silence, “I didn’t know your name was Caleb.”

Caleb allowed himself a small smile. “I would say that I did not know your name was Nott, but that would be a lie.”

Nott froze, turning to him. “You remember?”

“I do,” he answered. Now, he laughed quietly, “Although at the time, when I asked you your name and you said ‘Nott’ I may have misunderstood.”

A smile spread across her face before she started laughing, throwing herself back to lay on the bed. “Is that why you never offered yours?”

He nodded. “I thought I had perhaps tried to get too familiar. Guess I should have tried to ask for your name again after working alongside you for almost five years.”

“Yeah, and I should have too - I guess I was just scared that you wouldn’t like me because I was a goblin,” she shrugged, scooting over on the bed and patting the spot beside her. He took her up on the invitation, laying down beside her and staring at the wooden ceiling. “It just never came up again after we started working together around the house more often.”

Caleb turned to look at her. “Well, I am glad to finally be able to know your name, Nott, the Brave.”

She smiled toothily at him. “And it’s nice to meet you, Caleb Widogast.”

A pang of guilt flared up in his chest. He didn’t like lying to her, but there was no point in that anymore. Telling her the truth would only put her in danger - the truth was irrelevant now, if he kept it buried in the past. That person was as good as dead anyway, with how different Caleb was now.

Frumpkin paced up to where they lay, settling down between them with a small chirp. He blinked wide eyes at him, burrowing further into the bed and getting comfortable before closing his eyes, and the message read loud to Caleb.

“We should get some rest,” he told Nott.

“Yeah,” Nott agreed. “Sleep sounds - yeah, sleep sounds good.”

Caleb merely hummed in response, closing his eyes and trying to will his rushing mind to quiet enough so he could scrape together some sleep.

Nott’s breathing had long evened out as she drifted off, while he still tried to find sleep, feeling the leaden weight of his limbs drag him down from the exhaustion of everything - his past, his enslavement, their escape, their capture, and their rescue.

Laying there, beside Nott and with the warmth of Frumpkin pressed against his side, the relief that came crashing over him was almost overwhelming, bringing tears to his eyes.

He did his best to blink them away, but, much like his attempts at sleeping, he doesn’t succeed.

* * *

Still muttering to himself, Fjord stepped out of his room after putting on a fresh shirt. Why Beau had volunteered him to help clean out the canons was beyond him - he was the captain for fuck’s sake. He should have some preference in the jobs he got.

Regardless, after sitting around with Marius and for an hour and a half, the canons were brilliantly clean, with no leftover excesses of gunpowder in their holds that could cause any unfortunate accidents next time they used them.

As for him...well, he was certainly going to have to wash that shirt on it's own if he wanted the rest of his clothes to avoid getting soot-stained.

He sighed as he shut the door to his room. They really needed to find someone who would stick with the canons. Right now they were all proficient with them, but they really needed a master gunner.

With that thought - and already mentally going down the list and immediately removing Jester from his consideration - he turned, moving to head back above deck when he caught sight of Caleb similarly coming out of Jester’s old room.

“ _ Hallo _ ,” Caleb quietly greeted. There was still blood streaked across the side of his face, contrasting starkly with his bright blue, albeit now puffy, eyes. Fjord could also see that there were two tracks running down his face, one cutting through the blood and the other cutting through the dirt and grime.

Fjord pointedly didn’t comment on how Caleb looked. Instead, he asked, “Good nap?”

Caleb shook his head, dropping his gaze. “Sleep was much more out of reach than I had anticipated.”

“I - I’m sorry to hear about that,” Fjord said honestly.

“It is a, ah, more common occurrence than I would like to admit,” Caleb shrugged. He rubbed a hand across his face, scratching a little at his beard. He stopped as soon as he felt the dried blood coming off under his fingernails. He stared down at his fingers for a second, then met Fjord’s gaze. “Do you - would it be too much trouble if I used your washroom? Just - just to get some of the blood off.”

“‘Course not,” Fjord answers. He finally finds himself moving, nodding down towards the end of the hall. “It’s this way.” He feels Caleb slowly begin to follow him, falling into step behind him. “Did Jester not show you where it is?”

“It, ah, must have slipped her mind,” Caleb says easily, and Fjord sees that he’s deflecting in a way to excuse Jester.

Fjord isn’t sure if he’s doing it because he doesn’t want to get her in trouble with him, the Captain, or if this is one of the things he does. He lets out a snort, shaking his head. “I can’t say I’m surprised that she forgot to.” They turn the corner, heading towards the stairs before taking one last turn to the right, going down the short hallway that leads to the door of the washroom. He pushes it open, stepping inside. “This is it, Jester and Caduceus summon clean freshwater that we can wash whenever they get the chance, but right now I think all we’ve got is a few barrels of saltwater - still clean though.”

“That is more than enough, thank you,” Caleb nods, following him inside. Fjord sees the way he looks around, probably taking in everything in the rather small room - the three closed barrels, and the one open one with the bucket sitting beside it and the washbasin nestled against the wall, with the rusty mirror Jester insisted to keep in there so that they didn’t miss a spot when they washed and the small pile of used washrags and the slightly smaller stack of clean ones.

He raps a knuckle against a door on the opposite side of the room, barely having to lean over to do it. “This is the water closet - and there’s another one on the other side of the ship, near the extra ropes and sails and stuff.”

Caleb nods again, staring at the water as he tugged uncertainly at his coat sleeve.

“I can hold that - for you,” Fjord volunteers, surprising both Caleb and himself with the offer. “You know, so you don’t get your coat wet.”

“It is -” Caleb starts, before he nods, shrinking in on himself. “Yeah, okay,” he says quietly. He takes off his coat hesitantly, not meeting Fjord’s eyes as he hands it over.

What was probably once a white shirt hangs a little too big on his shoulders, with the tears and bloodstains that mark it up making him look even smaller than he already is. Fjord doesn’t say anything as he takes the coat, trying his best to give the man privacy. However, he can’t help but notice the bandages on Caleb’s arms as he pushes up his shirtsleeves. He doesn’t take them off. Fjord averts his eyes.

After a few short minutes the sound of quiet scrubbing and water stops, and Caleb takes a small step towards Fjord. He hands the coat back.

“Thank you,” Caleb says quietly.

“No problem,” Fjord nods, giving Caleb what he hoped was a warm smile to help put him at ease.

Now, without the blood on his face, Fjord could see that Caleb actually looked like he was about his age. He hadn’t been able to place how old the man was before, but now, with the smattering of freckles that dotted his cheeks and bridged over his nose, and the bright blue of his eyes, he could tell that Caleb was in his early twenties - maybe 22 or 23. He traced the path of a drop of water as it ran down the curve of his cheek, disappearing into the light scruff of his beard.

“Well, ah,” Fjord started, rubbing the back of his neck. “Would you like to come above deck for a while?”

Caleb shook his head, although he seemed more at ease now. “I was actually, ah, hoping to give resting another try now that the blood is off. But thank you, Captain.”

“Of course - yeah,” Fjord nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”

They stood around awkwardly for a beat before Fjord abruptly stepped back, out of the washroom. “I should go, y’know, back to my post. Unless - unless you need help finding your room?”

A small smile tugged on Caleb’s lips. “I - I can find my way back. I don’t want to trouble you further by keeping you from your ship.”

“That’s - it’s okay, you know. But if you’re okay, I’ll just be heading out now,” Fjord got out, stumbling over his words. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

Caleb ducked his head, looking away as he followed Fjord out of the washroom and down the small hallway, suddenly nervous again. “I may skip dinner tonight, if that is alright. I think I may just rest until the morning - but I will make sure to send Nott your way.”

“Well then, I hope you rest well,” Fjord tells him. He begins to climb up the steps, glancing back at Caleb again. “If you need anything, just give me a holler.”

The smile returns, small with shy amusement. “Thank you, Captain.”

Fjord climbs up the rest of the stairs, leaving Caleb in the hallway. He thinks about him skipping dinner, about the way his shirt was so loose on him, and he shakes his head. Well that won’t do at all, not on his watch.

* * *

Returning to the room they had been granted was easy, and as soon as he stepped inside he can see Frumpkin still curled up beside Nott, right as Caleb had instructed him. He smiles at his cat, shrugging off his coat and folding it before laying it beneath the pillow on his side. Laying down, Caleb allows himself to relax - wills his body to ease from the tension that has gripped it for years.

It’s hard and slow going, but he knows he eventually falls asleep because suddenly he’s waking up to a knock on the door. It’s 5:41 in the evening - Diovra time - and he sits up slowly, still a little sleep weary. Nott also sits up, rubbing at her eyes, her hair even more of a mess now.

“Go back to sleep, I will get it,” Caleb tells her, patting her on the head as he gets up.

She nods without saying anything, letting herself fall back onto the bed.

Rubbing the sleep out of his own eyes, Caleb opens the door to reveal the towering height of Caduceus, who’s carrying a tray laden with food.

“Room service,” the firbolg grins easily.

“But we didn’t - I was going to send Nott -” Caleb begins to explain.

“Captain told me to bring it over,” he shrugs. “And honestly after everything you’ve both been through, eating in bed is definitely more than warranted.”

Caleb nods wordlessly, stepping to the side and allowing Caduceus to step inside. His  _ alarm _ chimes in his head, but grows quiet once more.

“I made some stew with plenty of vegetables and a little bit of meat - which, if you don’t mind, please do tell me how it turned out because, ah, I’m not all that into meat so I’m not sure if I did a good job on it,” Caduceus says, setting the tray down on the small desk that, as Caleb had suspected earlier, is also covered in Jester’s doodles. “Yasha always says it's delicious, but she might just be saying that to be nice.”

“Thank you, Mr. Caduceus,” Caleb finally gets out. “This is definitely more than I would have ever hoped.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Caleb,” Caduceus answers brightly. He picks up one of the teacups that sit beside the steaming bowls of stew, handing it to Caleb. “And this’ll help you relax and it’ll help you sleep better.”

Caleb looks down at it warily, at the light blue colored liquid steaming in the cup.

“Ah, that’s right, give me a second.” Caduceus turns back around, picking up a small tin cup from the tray. “Beau suggested I bring these, just so you can see that it’s safe.” He held the empty cup out, waiting for Caleb to pour. Caleb does so, just a small amount, and Caduceus drinks it without hesitation. “Just tea,” he assures after also trying a small amount from Nott’s teacup. Now it's his turn to stare at the bowls of stew warily. “I mean, I could -”

Understanding what he had said earlier, Caleb shakes his head, already giving Frumpkin the mental command. “It is alright, Mr. Caduceus. I do believe that you are not trying to poison us.”

Frumpkin laps at both bowls, and when Frumkpin doesn’t react, Caleb knows it's safe.

_ Unless it’s a slow acting poison _ , he thinks, but he puts the thought out of his head. If they wanted him dead they could easily do it. He would have to trust that they don’t for now.

“Thank you,” he repeated, giving Caduceus a grateful nod.

“No problem,” he smiled. He looked Caleb over, the way he’d done when he’d first met him. “I know that it’s been a lot, just focus on taking it easy and getting your strength back, alright?”

“Okay,” Caleb said quietly. He took a careful sip of the tea, if only to try and hide his face behind the cup. The tangy burst of warmth left a minty aftertaste, and it was by far one of the most delicious things he’d had in a long time. “What kind of tea is this?”

Caduceus’ brow furrowed for a second, as if he were deep in thought before he answered, “That would be the Edevanes.”

Caleb had never heard of that kind of tea before. “Well, it is very delicious.”

“I think so too. Their blooms are always great stress relievers,” he agrees. “Anyway, I’ll be leaving you now. Eat up as much as you can, but take it slow, you don’t want to make yourself sick - and try to sleep.”

“Thank you,” Caleb repeated, because he honestly couldn’t figure out how to thank him enough aside from just saying it.

“No problem,” Caduceus nodded, taking his leave. He waved over at Nott as he crossed the threshold, making the bells in Caleb’s head ring again, “Sorry to wake you up, Miss Nott.” And then he was gone.

“They seem nice,” Nott said as Caleb shut the door behind Caduceus, turning around to see her sitting up in bed, wide awake now at the prospect of food.

“ _ Ja _ ,” Caleb agreed. He thought of the Captain, who apparently was the one who sent the food over - after Caleb had told him he was going to skip dinner. He took another sip of the tea, feeling warmth begin to bloom from his chest, slowly thawing the cold that had taken root there for so long. “They really do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand that's the chapter!! The description of Fjord looking at Caleb in the washroom was honestly giving me so much trouble and after i told my sister about it she just said to shift my focus on the delicate rather than the rugged because it was a softer scene, and then after that it just came together, so thank you Olly for helping me figure that out!!
> 
> but yeah, this is how imma be fucking coping til next week because FUCK that episode, amiright??
> 
> and also, potential beaujes in the future of this fic?? jesasha?? I am an indecisive woman so we shall see, because like, gang i'm also flagging because I think my Widomauk is showing T.T but I will save that for another fic that I will eventually get around to writing
> 
> anyway, thank you so much for reading, I really hope you guys liked it!! I'll be back as soon as I can, but if not, I will see you guys next month!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fjord loses some sleep and Caleb has a hard time with his anxieties despite having escaped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALrighty, round 2: I tried to put this up like 20 minutes ago but my internet just died on me, so yeah heres to hoping it gets through this time
> 
> anyway, i'm SUPER sorry about missing my deadline for last month T.T I know I'm late, but deadass with everything going on, life just kicked me in the throat (and I was also super busy in the Shadowgast tag after they came for my damn neck since ep 97) and I didn't get the chance to get around to it, but fear not, because I have not forgotten about our merry band of pirates
> 
> I really hope you guys like this next chapter!!!

The rest of the day went by rather quickly as they set their course for Avorealis Coast on the shores of Pelysar. Hopefully the winds would be on their side and make the journey quicker for them, putting as much room between the  _ Mistake  _ and the  _ Iron Shepherd _ as they could. Fjord tried not to dwell too much on what would happen if they crossed paths with them again, so soon after this latest fight - even if they had been the ones to start it.

They knew now how in over their heads they’d been to pick a fight when they were short a couple of fighters. And besides, he now had two more hands on deck he needed to look after, he couldn’t be putting innocent people at risk by picking fights they couldn’t win.

He sighed, and it must have been loud enough because Molly instantly perked up from where he was already lounging on his bed on his side of the room. “Somethin’ on your mind, Captain?”

“Fjord, Molly, just Fjord,” Fjord repeated, for what felt like the thousandth time. “How many times do I gotta say that?”

“Eh, maybe one more time,” he shrugged. When Fjord only gave him a half hearted glare, Molly relented. “C’mon, Fjord - what’s wrong?”

“It’s just,” Fjord ran a hand through his hair, sitting down on his own bed and facing Molly across the room. “Do you think we’ll ever be able to take them down?”

“You mean the Shepherds?” Molly asked. Fjord nodded, to which Molly merely looked up at the ceiling with a frown. “I don’t see why not,” he finally said after a few minutes of silence. He glanced over to Fjord. “They’ve been doing their job for much longer than we’ve been sailing together - much longer than you’ve even been a captain,” Molly reminded him. “We’ve just gotta get better, smarter - then,” he shrugged again. “Their luck will run out.”

That seemed about as much of a silver lining that they’d find in this dark train of thought. Fjord sighed again, moving to start unclasping the ties of his armor. They had switched off with Orly, Marius, Gallan, and Shelda for the quieter night shift. All they had to do was keep the ship steady through the night - aside from Gallan, who was fashioning another boarding plank since Molly kicked the last one overboard during their battle.

Choosing to change the subject before he began to dwell on that again, Fjord scowled over at Molly. “I don’t even know why you would offer him to room with us,” he huffed.

Molly pushed himself up, looking over at Fjord with an arched brow. “Uh, what?”

“Caleb,” Fjord said, wanting to sound exasperated even as the name tumbled from his lips like a breath of fresh air. “You offered him to stay in our room and, and - and he has a cat! I’m allergic to cats!”

“Pft,” Molly laughed, falling onto his back again. “You act like Jester wouldn’t have taken that cat right off our hands.” His tail swished where it dangled off the side of his bed. “And then boom, we’re clear.”

“You’re only saying that because you’re not the one with the allergies,” Fjord mumbled, setting his armor to the side before he took off his shirt and then moved to rifle through his clothes until he found a clean pair of sleep pants.

“But you know I’m riiight,” Molly sang out. He stretched, closing his eyes and settling more comfortably amidst his dozens of pillows. He cracked open a crimson eye, looking towards Fjord. “But why are you still thinking about it?”

“B-because,” Fjord started, trying to come up with an answer.

Molly held up a finger to silence him. “I don’t need an answer to that, dear.” He rolled over, onto his stomach, then pointed at Fjord. “That’s something you gotta answer for yourself,” he said, flashing him a knowing grin. “Good night,” he chimed, closing his eyes and burrowing further into his pillows.

“I -” Fjord started, before he shut his mouth. He honestly had nothing to say to that. Molly responded with an obnoxiously loud purr - his sign that he was comfortable enough and starting to drift to sleep. “Don’t know how I’m not allergic to you, you damn cat,” Fjord grumbled.

The purring stopped. “Don’t forget - I know where you sleep,” Molly warned, playfully threatening before the purring started up again.

Shaking his head, Fjord got up, changing into his sleep pants before turning out their lantern, making sure his bucket was by his bedside. He settled in comfortably himself - with much less pillows than Mollymauk had - but still comfortable nonetheless, and with the comfort that no matter how the fight had ended that everyone was fine, safe and sound on the ship, and with two new people on board.

Two new people and a cat that he hoped wouldn’t give his allergies much trouble.

* * *

_ There was water everywhere - everywhere, everywhere he looked, just the endless dark void of water. He didn’t know which way was up, which way was down, and when he blew out the bubbles that he knew were his last breath, they disappeared as soon as they left his mouth. They didn’t float, didn’t sink, they did absolutely  _ nothing _. _

_ Fjord looked around frantically, fighting to swim to gods knew where. Suddenly, a bright light blinded him, engulfing him in a sickly yellow glow. Blinking and trying to keep from swallowing the ocean water in surprise, he saw a giant eye staring coldly at him. _

_ He stared at it, utterly terrified, his chest seizing and burning from lack of oxygen. _

“Watching,”  _ a voice spoke in his head, sounding as if it were coming from all around him.  _

_ There was a flash, like lightning, the briefest image of himself, of a memory, of Fjord crawling up onto a sand beach and throwing up ocean water. _

“Potential.”

_ Ocean water gave way to another flash - this time of Fjord first summoning the falchion in a spur of the moment flurry in battle when his iron blade had been knocked out of his hand. _

“Learn.”

_ Flash - the sensation of magic beneath his skin, the fizzing green eldritch energy that appeared in the palm of his hand when he focused. _

“Grow.”

_ The dark water disappeared to show turbulent shores, the familiar grey sails of that hateful carrack fighting against the gales of an ocean tempest _ .

“Provoke.”

_ A flash, this time of fire, fire bursting forth from someone - a stranger, a silhouette he didn’t recognize, illuminated against the flames. _

“Consume.”

_ Everything went dark again, save the giant yellow eye staring straight at him. _

“Reward.”

_ Fjord fought to keep himself from breathing, fought to keep from drowning before he couldn’t anymore - inhaling deeply, feeling as his lungs filled with water. _

“Patience.”

_ He choked on it, feeling the way it poured into him, heavy, drowning - drowning - _

“Hey! Hey!” someone whispered loudly as Fjord sat bolt upright, turning over the edge of his bed and retching instantly - with most of it, thankfully, ending up in the bucket. A soothing hand patted at his back. “You’re alright, you’re alright - just a nightmare.”

Fjord weakly nodded at Molly’s words, spitting up the rest of it, feeling the way the salt water burned as it came up. “Fuck,” he choked out, slipping into his real accent, “I don’t know what he  _ wants _ .”

“Shh, stop talking, just let it all out,” Molly instructed, not pointing out his slip and still patting his back. “You can talk afterward, just let it all out, Tusktooth.”

He nodded once, because if he did it again Fjord felt like his head was going to just fall the fuck off. He had a splitting headache, one that only began to recede once he finally felt like the last of the saltwater was out of his lungs, the burn for oxygen fading now that it was finally reaching his brain.

“Sorry for wakin’ you up,” he said after what felt like hours of just shaking and spitting up the last drops of water, half hanging off his bed.

Molly patted him once more on the back before running a comforting hand through Fjord’s hair, pushing back the sweaty strands that had stuck to his forehead. “No need to apologize - I knew what I was signing up for.”

This was how it’d been for almost three years now, ever since they had picked up Yasha and Mollymauk off in Fortuna when Jester was visiting her mother. The pair had joined the group, and in their first few nights a couple of roommate assignments had left Molly sleeping in his room for a few days, until they found him a place - and one of those nights just happened to be a night where Fjord had woken up as he’d been drowning, throwing up seawater all over the floor of their room.

It’d be embarrassing and terrifying, as Fjord was unsure how Molly was going to react - but he’d taken it in stride, being surprisingly calm about it all, especially when Fjord had confessed that no one else knew and that he had no idea what it even meant. However, that led to Mollymauk proclaiming that now he  _ had _ to stay on the ship and that he just  _ had _ to stay in the same room as Fjord, because who else was going to keep him from drowning in his sleep?

And so this had become rather normal for them, a couple of rough nights every few weeks, and Fjord had to admit that it was comforting to have someone around who knew, someone he could confide in about how  _ terrifying _ all of this was.

Fjord reached for his wineskin blindly, and with a sigh Molly grabbed it off the hook Fjord kept it on and handed it over to him. Fjord gave him a small nod, taking a small sip to wash out the taste of saltwater before spitting it into the bucket before taking a long pull.

“Gods, that’s -” Fjord started, but his sentence was drowned out by a loud scream - new and unfamiliar, coming from Jester’s old room.

They shared a look.

“Stay put,” Molly instructed, already slipping from his side and picking up one of his swords as he made his way to the door. The scream had ended just as quickly as it’d begun, with the sound of their door opening on rickety hinges punctuating the silence that followed. Molly knocked on the door to the right. “Everything alright in there?”

There was a creak and the soft sound of footsteps, and then the sound of another door opening. “I-I’m sorry,” Nott started, but the rest of her sentence was too low for Fjord to hear over the ringing in his ears from his nightmare.

“Don’t worry about it,” Molly answered easily. “That seems to be going around tonight. Just try to get some rest.”

The creak of the door shutting was heard before Molly stepped back into their room, pushing the door closed behind him. His sword was glowing a soft gold.

“What happened?” Fjord asked, eyeing the line of crimson that trailed down Molly’s fingers.

“Nightmare,” Molly shrugged, the golden glow disappearing as he sheathed his sword again beside his bed before he sat down. “Guess Caleb had one too.”

Fjord nodded, then he sighed. “Yeah, that’s - bein’ on that ship ain’t a walk in the park.”

“Well, they’re off it now, and all we can do is help them get to where they need to go so they can start to leave that behind,” Molly told him. He gave him a careful once over, one that reminded Fjord of the way Caduceus looked at people when he was tending to their wounds. “You should try and go back to sleep though,” Molly said finally. “Can’t have the Captain falling asleep on the job.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Fjord got out, waving his words away even as he let himself fall back onto his bed. He heard Molly do the same. “Night, Molly.”

“Sleep tight, Fjord,” he answered.

And then they settled into comfortable silence, the sound of Molly’s even breathing a comforting constant as Molly fell asleep, but it only reminded Fjord of the sleep that painfully evaded him for the rest of the night.

* * *

“So it’ll take m-m-m-maybe two and a half weeks to get to Pelysar, Captain,” Orly - as the tortle had introduced himself - informed them, tapping a claw on the center of the stretch of ocean that lay between Diovra and Pelysar. “I’m thinking we dock in Fortuna, it’s the closest we’ll get to where these folks n-n-n-need to go that’ll also serve as a place to restock.”

Fjord nodded, rubbing at his chin pensively. “It would also give Jester a chance to see her mother,” he mused. He turned to Caleb. “Does that sound fine with you? There are a couple of other cities along the Avorealis Coast we can head to instead.”

“No, that is fine,” Caleb told him, ducking his head slightly out of nervousness at being addressed so suddenly. When Mollymauk had summoned him and Nott on behalf of the Captain, he wasn’t sure what to expect - but he certainly hadn’t been expecting to get a say in where they were going.

Hell, when Mollymauk had approached them in the small corner that Caduceus had made for them in the kitchen, “so you can both eat in peace before you ease your way into knowing everyone,” Caleb had thought that he was going to bring up his screaming from last night. He’d been nervous about having to talk about it, but the quartermaster didn’t mention it, much to Caleb’s relief. He was already shaken enough by the nightmare he’d had as it was, could still feel the lick of flames against his skin and smell the burning bodies, could hear their screams and his laughter over the din of it all. Anything else so soon might make him snap.

“I’ve never been to Fortuna,” Nott added, peering over at the map.

“Never been -” someone gasped, before there was a loud thud behind them. They turned in time to see Jester heading over to them, the barrel of who knows what she had been carrying instantly forgotten. “Fortuna is just, SO amazing! The beaches are so pretty and the food is delicious and - my Mama lives there, and my goodness, you’re just going to love it.”

Nott wrinkled her nose slightly. “I don’t know about the beach, but I sure love food.”

“Then you’re going to love it,” Jester assured. She glanced at Caleb. “Have you ever been to Fortuna?”

He shook his head, dropping his gaze. He’d read about it plenty as a child, and had even sailed close enough that he could see the glittering architecture through a spyglass, but he hadn’t ever been there. And now - well, he had nowhere to go. Fortuna was as good a place as any, as long as it got him far away from Calendula.

“It’ll be fun, I can show you both around and stuff,” Jester grinned, patting Caleb on the arm. She furrowed her brow, taking a closer look at him before she tugged on his coat sleeve. “Caleb, this is - oh, Caleb, do you want me to wash it for you? There’s still blood on it and I can even  _ mend  _ it where it's ripped-”

Caleb tore his arm out of her grip, stumbling backwards.

Everyone froze, with Jester’s arm still hovering in the air where he’d pulled away.

“N-no, it's fine,” he forced himself to get out, wrapping his arms around himself. “It - it’s just -”

“Are you alright, Caleb?” Nott rushed out, reaching out for him but stopping short.

Fjord and Orly were watching him carefully, and Caleb felt like the caged animal he must look like, frightened and nervous, something that should be put down because of the danger he poses to those around them. Mollymauk’s tail twitched in the air as he glanced between Jester and Caleb.

The silence that settled around them felt suffocating, heavy,  _ terrifying _ as Caleb glanced around at all of them, feeling himself crumple in on himself.

Jester gently took a step closer to him. “Caleb, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said softly, breaking the silence.

He kept his eyes on the floor, even as he shook his head again. He needed to get himself together - he needed to be useful to these people, needed to be on their good side if he wanted to stay safe for the journey. “It is just,” he continued, gritting his teeth. “It has, ah, sentimental value.”

“Oh,” Jester got out. She crouched down slightly, enough for her to meet his eyes. She gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, I understand.”

She seemed so kind. He didn’t want to trust her. He certainly didn’t deserve it.

“I -” he needed to get himself together, needed to keep in control of his emotions. Making up his mind and taking a deep breath, he shoved his hands in his pockets, pulling out his loose scraps of paper. “H-here,” he said, closing his eyes as he shrugged out of it. He swallowed hard as he held it out to her.

Jester gave him a bright smile as she took his coat carefully, keeping her eyes on his face. “It’s going to be good as new Caleb, just you wait.”

“Th-thank you, Jester,” he weakly answered, giving her a smile that came out more like a grimace.

“Be careful with it, alright, Jess?” Fjord told her with a knowing look.

“Of course,” Jester nodded, folding the coat over her arm. “I’ll get to it right away.” She gave them one last look, smiling at Caleb again before she took her leave, walking right past the barrel she’d been carrying just moments before.

Mollymauk kicked off the railing he’d been leaning against as silence began to descend on them again. “What’ve you got there?”

“Nothing -” Caleb rushed out, at the same time that Nott answered, “It’s his spells!”

He gave her a terrified look. He hadn’t wanted them to know - they could react all kinds of ways to his magic, could take it as a threat or a weapon, and Caleb didn’t know which was worse.

“Your spells?” Fjord asked, raising a brow.

“They’re nothing, really,” Caleb told them, trying to avoid any specific questions.

“Won’t you lose something having your papers out like that?” Mollymauk said, pointing at the papers still in his hand.

Caleb looked down, realizing he was holding them in a white knuckle grip. He forced himself to relax, not wanting to wrinkle the paper.

“I, ah - this is just how I like to keep them,” Caleb shrugged.

“Well, maybe drop those off in your room - don’t want them getting blown away by the wind,” Mollymauk told him. He waved over at Yasha, gesturing at the barrel Jester left behind. “Be a doll and get this with the rest of them.” 

Yasha nodded, easily lifting it up and taking it to the opposite end of the ship before she disappeared below deck - and just like that, it seemed like everyone was going back to work, the tense moment vanishing altogether.

Nott finally moved closer to him, hesitantly grabbing onto his pants leg. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

“ _ Ja _ ,” he sighed. He carefully folded his papers, tucking them into his pants pocket. “I’m fine.” He turned to the captain, finding it hard to stay composed when he could see the worry in her eyes. “Is there, ah, any work we can do to be of service?”

“We - yeah, we got a bit of work on board,” Fjord nodded, crossing his arms and tapping a finger against his bicep. He looked tired, with dark circles beneath his eyes that betrayed little sleep.

_ “I-I’m sorry,” Nott got out as she opened the door. “C-caleb had a nightmare -” _

_ Caleb swallowed hard, feeling his heartbeat thundering in his chest. “I apologize for waking you.” _

_ Mollymauk looked around, his glowing sword held easily at his side. Not ready to attack but just...ready. “Don’t worry about it,” Mollymauk shrugged, red eyes landing on Caleb. “That seems to be going around tonight.” _

Maybe - had Fjord had a nightmare too? Caleb was familiar with that look, the exhausted, haunted look.

“Unless you would rather take another day to rest? I won’t begrudge either of you that,” Fjord added.

“No, that is - that won’t be necessary,” Caleb said, shaking himself from his thoughts. “We would like to help things run smoothly now that we are here.” He glanced over to Nott who quickly nodded as she looked over at Fjord too. Any work that they could do would prove that Caleb was fine, that he could do things.

He looked from Caleb to Nott and back, then shrugged. “Alright then, suit yourselves. We’ve got two more cannons that need cleaning.” He motioned them over with a wave. “Follow me.”

With little reluctance, Caleb and Nott fell into step behind him. He led them down the way Yasha had disappeared, past a cargo hold and into another room, with half a dozen cannons sitting idly by the cannon holes. It was easy to spot which pair the captain had been talking about - not only where the cannons filthy and spotted with rust and other such water damage, but Yasha and a half elf were both working on wiping them down, barely getting any progress at that.

“Marius,” Fjord called out. The half-elf glanced up, showing a man around their age, with messy blonde hair and black powder smudged along his cheek. “Back to your duties. Caleb and Nott will finish this up with Yasha.”

“Oh thank the gods,” Marius sighed, clamoring to his feet and giving an exaggerated stretch.

“And wipe that off your face unless you’d like your nose getting blown off if Orly lights his pipe near you,” Fjord warned as Marius walked past them. The half elf flushed, quickly wiping a hand across his face before he ducked out of the room. Fjord turned to the both of them again. “Alright, it's pretty straight forward. We’re just trying to leave them clean so we can reduce any mishaps happening next time we use ‘em.”

“Aye, aye,” Nott nodded.

That pulled a smile out of Fjord. “Yasha, here, will help you. If you have any trouble, let her know. Don’t push yourselves too hard.” He gave them a not so subtle once over, his eyes straying over Caleb. Caleb held stock still beneath his gaze, but looked away. “Yeah, just, do your best. Yasha will take you both to the kitchens for lunch later.” He gave Yasha a knowing nod, and with that, he left the three of them to their devices.

Caleb moved over to the cannon Marius had abandoned, picking up one of the two rags he’d been using. They got to work silently, with Nott moving to clean the bottom of the cannon while Caleb cleaned the top, taking turns dipping their rags and a bucket of water and wringing it out before they got to cleaning again. It was almost soothing, the monotony of the motions, helping calm some of Caleb’s nervousness of the night and the moment with Jester and his coat. 

After about an hour and a half, they had the majority of the cannon looking much better than it had when they first came down - but that was only on one side. The other side of the cannon, the one that sat against the wall, was still filthy. They both tried to pull the cannon away from the wall slightly so that they could reach the grime on the other side.

“You heard the Captain,” Yasha started, voice low as she got up from where she’d been working on the other cannon. She stood beside Caleb, absolutely dwarfing him, before she reached over and pulled the cannon about a foot away from the wall without any trouble. “Don’t push yourselves too hard.”

“ _ Danke _ ,” Caleb said softly as Nott squeaked out a quick, “Thanks,” as well.

Yasha turned back to her work. “It is no problem.” She glanced over at Caleb from over her shoulder. “We are here to help, you know. We’re not like them.”

He instantly knew who she was referring to. “It - I - ”

“It is okay,” Yasha continued, cutting off his stuttering. “I understand what it is like to walk on eggshells.” She looked up. “But they were kind to me.” She turned back to them. “And if you are kind, we will be kind in turn.”

Silence fell between them as they went back to work, but this one was comfortable, easy, as Caleb mulled over her words. So far, everything  _ had _ been okay, despite how anxious Caleb was for the other shoe to drop and for everything to go wrong. They’d been more than accommodating, despite Caleb and Nott being complete strangers.

“Do you want me to get the stuff on the bottom?” Nott offered. Caleb glanced over, catching her standing beside Yasha, dirty rag twisted in her hands.

“That would be very helpful,” Yasha smiled, moving over to make room for Nott. “Thank you.”

Nott instantly relaxed, quickly ducking beneath the cannon and starting to clean up the spots there - and if everyone was like this soft-spoken woman, Caleb thought, then these next few weeks might not be so bad.

Caleb pushed his hair out of his eyes. They could keep this up for a couple of weeks. And when they got to Fortuna - 

He glanced over at Nott, at where she was scrubbing furiously at a spot she’d found.

Well, he’d cross that bridge when he got to it - and hopefully he wouldn’t have to cross it alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i honestly forget how much I love Mollymauk until I start writing him again, like man, I miss this boy so damn much, and he's just *clenches fist* cares so much about his friends, like he's really out here making sure Fjord's okay, and man is it gonna be fun to finally see Mollymauk in all his piracy glory, we were robbed for not getting to see that T.T
> 
> and omfg, as I was writing I realized that I 100% subscribe to the head canon that tieflings purr because like man not only is it cute as hell, it just has me soft as fuck for them, so yeah, they purr (and who knows who else purrs...it is a fantasy world, after all)
> 
> anyway, thank you so much for reading!! I really hope you guys liked this chapter and I hope that I can get back with another chapter soon, but, if circumstances kick my ass again, I'll be seeing you all next month!!


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